1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to multi-terminal, multi-layer devices, and more particularly to multi-terminal, multi-layer devices, which can withstand greater mechanical shocks or mechanical loads to their terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
In certain applications, electrical devices or sensors are used to measure or detect various operating or performance parameters such as, for example, temperature, pressure, or acceleration. These devices can be actuators or electronic devices such as magnetic field sensors. Typically, the electrical functions of the devices are communicated to support electronics and/or some recording apparatus that allows an operator to monitor the parameters being measured by the sensors. In many instances, the device is provided with terminals, which are simply connected to lead wires extending from the support electronics or recording apparatus.
Some electronic devices are made of multiple layers of semiconductor material. These devices or sensors typically include an interior operating unit. The electrical function of the unit may occur at various layers of the device, which must be connected, to the external electronics. For example, lead wires may be connected to interior terminals on one or more surfaces of the interior operating unit, and then fed through access holes in the layers to the outside of the device. However, when electrical functions are communicated from surfaces on opposite sides, for example, an upward and a downward surface, of the interior operating unit, wiring to the unit becomes inconvenient during the assembly process.
Some assembly processes use a “flip-chip” technique in which the inner terminals of the interior operating unit are presented on one surface. Patterns of conductor lines extend from the inner terminals up an insulated surface of a semiconductor layer that is adjacent to the interior operating unit to an outer surface of the semiconductor layer. It has been proposed to electrically connect the interior operating unit to the outside by using metal thin films that coat oxide-insulated holes of semiconductor layers positioned next to the interior operating unit. Such connections, however, introduce large capacitance coupling which can be troublesome, for example, for systems working at radio frequencies. Furthermore, extending the conductor lines through several layers is not easily accomplished.
There is a need to provide an improved multi-terminal, multi-layer device. There is a further need to provide an improved multi-terminal, multi-layer device, which can withstand greater mechanical shocks or mechanical loads to its terminals.